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Baltic Action Plan
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the British Government have been consulted on the US Administration's proposal for the Baltic action plan. [10441]
Mr. Doug Henderson: The USA is discussing with the Baltic states the possible conclusion of a charter as part of a process further to develop co-operation between the USA and the Baltic states. This is a matter between the USA and the Baltic states. We have, however, been kept informed of progress in these talks.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the impact of the provisions of the Baltic action plan currently being negotiated on British commitments towards the Baltic states. [10442]
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Mr. Henderson:
The USA is discussing with the Baltic states the possible conclusion of a charter as part of a process further to develop co-operation between the USA and the Baltic states. The charter will not affect British relations with the Baltic states.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the Government's objectives for the first meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation-Russia permanent joint council on 22 September. [10443]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's objective at the first ministerial meeting of the permanent joint council will be to consult the Russian Foreign Minister on a range of security issues of common interest and to begin to establish a new mechanism for building greater trust and co-operation between Russia and NATO. The first meeting is expected in September; no date has been confirmed.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the potential impact of NATO enlargement on the future of arms control with special reference to START 2, START 3--the strategic arms reduction talks--and the conventional forces in Europe treaty. [10444]
Mr. Lloyd:
START 2 and START 3 remain bilateral US-Russian negotiations to which President Clinton and President Yeltsin recommitted themselves in March this year in the run-up to the NATO summit and the announcements made there about NATO enlargement. I welcome their continued commitment to progress.
The CFE treaty is being adapted by all 30 state parties. On 23 July, after the NATO summit and enlargement decisions, agreement was reached on the basic elements of an adapted treaty. This was a very welcome sign of progress.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the negotiations in Vienna on adapting and modernising the CFE treaty. [10445]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
On 23 July, NATO allies and the other 14 CFE states adopted an outline agreement for modernising the CFE treaty. This is good news for European security. CFE states have agreed to abolish the old bloc-to-bloc structure of the treaty and to set lower maximum equipment levels; maintain regional limits, including in the flank zone of south-east and north-east Europe; improve the transparency of our military activity, including the exacting inspections which have been one of the treaty's greatest strengths.
Negotiations will resume in Vienna in September on the basis of this outline agreement.
Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to ratify the Council of Europe's charter for regional or minority languages; and if he will make a statement. [10372]
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Mr. Tony Lloyd:
We are currently examining what the implications of signing and ratifying the charter would be. Once this examination is complete, we will be in a better position to take a decision on the matter.
Mr. Faber:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 22 July, Official Report, column 519, what is the closing date for representations to be made under stage 1 of the strategic defence review. [10837]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The closing date for written comments on all stages of the strategic defence review was 30 June 1997.
Dr. Marek:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what responsibilities he has (a) generally for electoral arrangements and (b) for setting the terms of reference of commissioners determining constituency boundaries in Bermuda. [10821]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has ultimate responsibility for electoral arrangements in Bermuda which are determined by the relevant provisions of the Bermudian constitution. However, questions on electoral boundaries would in the first instance be matters for the Bermuda Government.
Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures his Department is taking to ensure compliance with copyright law; and what progress it is making towards taking out a photocopying licence with the Copyright Licensing Agency. [10992]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
This Department takes its responsibilities under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 seriously and is already party to the Central Office of Information agreement with the Newspapers Licensing Agency in respect of systematic copying of newspapers.
The copying of Crown copyright material is not a matter for licensing for use by Crown servants.
Representatives of the Copyright Licensing Agency and this Department most recently met on 30 April 1997 and we are assessing the position in respect of non-newspaper copying in the light of that meeting.
An agreement with the CLA is not necessarily required in order to comply with UK copyright legislation.
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current position with regard to the United Kingdom ratifying the Europe agreement with Slovenia; and if he will make a statement.[10792]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
The UK is strongly committed to early and successful enlargement of the European Union. An important aspect of the preparation for this is the ratification of the Europe agreements. We are
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determined to ensure that the UK ratifies the EU-Slovenia Europe agreement as soon as possible. Subject to the availability of the necessary parliamentary time, we expect to complete our parliamentary procedures within the next four months.
Mr. Gorrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of staff normally working at (a) Dover house, (b) St. Andrew's house and (c) Leith. [10167]
Mr. Dewar:
The number of permanent staff working at Dover house, St. Andrew's house and Victoria quay, Leith are shown in the table. Figures relate to the position at 1 April 1997 and are a head count of full-time and part-time staff, rounded to the nearest 10.
| Building | Headcount |
|---|---|
| Dover house | 30 |
| St. Andrew's house | 410 |
| Victoria quay, Leith | 1,160 |
The number of staff currently working in St. Andrew's house is low at present and is normally around the 800 level. Due to refurbishment work, however, many have been decanted temporarily to other buildings, other than Victoria quay. In addition, there are approximately 60 contracted staff for facilities management who work in Victoria quay.
Referendum
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if each group campaigning in the referendum will be permitted a free delivery of a leaflet to (a) each elector entitled to vote in the forthcoming referendum or (b) each household in Scotland. [10073]
Mr. McLeish: The Government have made it clear during the debates on the Referendums (Scotland and Wales) Bill that no state aid will be provided to any party or organisation for the purposes of campaigning at the referendum.
Further Education
Mr. Gorrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the proposed timetable for the review of further education in Scotland. [10173]
Mr. Wilson: The review of further education colleges' funding methodology, currently under way, is expected to be completed in September.
Juveniles
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of prostitution have been recorded among juveniles in detention in the past year.[9258]
Mr. McLeish
[holding answer 23 July 1997]: In the past year, no cases of prostitution have been recorded among children in secure accommodation. No cases of
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prostitution have been recorded by the Scottish Prison Service among young prisoners under 16 during the same period.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many incidents of (a) protest movements, (b) mutinies or rebellions, (c) hunger strikes, (d) cases of self-mutilation, (e) cases of suicide and (f) prison escapes or attempted escapes affecting (i) male and (ii) female juveniles in detention have been recorded in the past year.[9286]
Mr. McLeish
[holding answer 23 July 1997]: There were no such incidents involving young prisoners under 16 recorded by the Scottish Prison Service in the past year. In secure accommodation for children, there were no cases of protest movements, mutinies, rebellions or hunger strikes. Three cases of self-mutilation and two attempted suicides were recorded. There were four attempted escapes--four boys and two girls--and three boys escaped.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the incidence of physical and sexual abuse by inmates in respect of juveniles in detention in the last year. [9259]
Mr. McLeish
[holding answer 23 July 1997]: There was no evidence of such abuse of young prisoners under 16 recorded by the Scottish Prison Service in the past year. Two incidents of physical abuse and one incident of sexual abuse by inmates were recorded among children in secure accommodation.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many complaints have been made alleging ill-treatment of juveniles in detention; and if he will make a statement on the outcomes of these complaints. [9261]
Mr. McLeish
[holding answer 23 July 1997]: There have been no complaints recorded by the Scottish Prison Service alleging ill-treatment of young prisoners under 16. Fourteen complaints alleging ill-treatment in secure accommodation for children are recorded. Of these, two were withdrawn, 10 were investigated and not upheld and two are under investigation.
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